The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari declared on Wednesday that Nigeria’s oil reserve have been estimated to dry up in the next 25 to 30 years at most, Tribune reports.
To this end, he said the focus of the government must be on gas which is also estimated to last for over 60 years, adding that his government must ensure a dramatic movement into gas production. Kachikwu spoke yesterday at the 5th triennial delegates conference of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in Abuja.
“I am just coming from the FEC where we presented a memo on gas which has been approved today. Major movement is […] what we need to do in the gas environment because it is so key that unless we can put the two forms of energy together, we are not likely to see an improvement in our economy or see opportunities that most of you are beginning to miss in terms of job creation and employment in the oil sector,” he said.
He added: “Gas is the new horizon of opportunity. There is so much happening that needs to happen, that should have happened yesterday. Gas is the future for this country and the place to be and we need to start looking at that. Increasingly, we are seeing very strong local players.”
